Comma chameleon

Following the dictum of "comma for clarity," Oxford University has dumped the "Oxford Comma."

Here’s an explanation from the style guide: “As a general rule, do not use the serial/Oxford comma: so write ‘a, b and c’ not ‘a, b, and c’. But when a comma would assist in the meaning of the sentence or helps to resolve ambiguity, it can be used – especially where one of the items in the list is already joined by ‘and’ [for example]: They had a choice between croissants, bacon and eggs, and muesli.”

A video (with NSFW lyrics) uses the Oxford comma as a metaphor for the small stuff one should not sweat.

Words are nothing without everything they carry

A free-association visual poem that illustrates that words are labels we attach to concepts, which are linked in the video by definitions, synonyms and/or homophones -- from Will Hoffman and Daniel Mercadante to accompany Radiolab's Words episode. With an original score by Keith Kenniff.

Eating your words

Although the owner of the diner that insisted patrons speak English maintains that his policy has nothing to do with its closing, being rude to people can't be the best business model

The restaurant's owner, Greg Simons, closed his restaurant on Wednesday.

Simons made waves in March when he posted a sign on the door banning customers who don't speak English.

Simons said the closure has nothing to do with the sign, but that he needs to tend to his mother's health and doesn't have time to devote to the restaurant.

Some just call it El Lay

LA Times looks back at the ways to pronounce the name of the city. In a campaign speech, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is the latest to fumble it. But there's a long line.

Mispronouncing L.A. is an old tradition.

"There is no other city in the world whose inhabitants so miserably and shamelessly, and with so many varieties of foolishness, miscall the name of the town they live in," author Charles Lummis wrote in 1914.

As early as 1880 the Chamber of Commerce issued this reminder to visitors (and residents):

The Lady would remind you, please

Her name is not Lost AN-jie-lees."

But what is the lady's name? It depends, of course, on whether one is talking about a Spanish or Anglicized pronunciation

In the early 1900s, The Times advocated the Spanish version, carrying a box by its editorial page masthead that proclaimed the way to say Los Angeles was Loce AHNG-hayl-ais.

English speakers who found that difficult could only be thankful that the city had shortened its original name, which some scholars believe was El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula.

The Times' campaign aside, the United States Board on Geographic Names decreed in 1934 that the name should be Anglicized to Loss AN-ju-less.

Talking about talking

The Language As Culture blog posts and reacts to a TED talk on the supremacy of English. The essayist's analysis on one of the points raised:

policy makers fear the increasing number of Spanish speaking immigrants will somehow threaten the large hold English has on power in America. The point here is that measuring language’s values can be done but it is pointless because language is not a lone factor in deciding policies that affect an entire nation and groups of people (education, voting, etc….).

Not only unconstitutional, but unfriendly

An English-only law has been revoked in New York.

An upstate New York town has repealed an ordinance designating English its official language and prohibiting officials from writing or speaking in others while conducting municipal business.

The Jackson Town Board's 4-to-1 vote Wednesday night repeals the measure passed last year. It follows a recent letter from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman saying the ordinance was illegal, discriminating against non-English speakers.

Town Supervisor Alan Brown says there has been criticism from residents of the rural town who felt it was "an unfriendly way to greet strangers" and pressure from outsiders, with Schneiderman's letter the last straw.

You're not alone

A literary agent has compiled some commonly confused words and commenters have added more.

lie-lay 

Time to lie down for a nap. (verb, present tense)

Yesterday she lay on the grass and daydreamed. (verb, past tense)

       If you are going to use “lay” as present tense, it’s only if you are going to lay something down. The present tense verb “lay” needs to have an object.

affect-effect-effect

Will this post affect the way you write? (verb)

If so, I hope it has a positive effect. (noun)

I’m trying to effect a change in the way writers use grammar. (transitive verb meaning to cause or bring about)

Words as a tool of sexism

Both men and women tend to overlook the more subtle daily acts of sexism they encounter, according to a recent study from Psychology of Women Quarterly.

Things such as calling women "girls" but not calling men "boys" or referring to a collective group as "guys" are forms of subtle sexism that creep into daily interactions. The study helps not only identify which forms of sexism are most overlooked by which sex, but also how noticing these acts can change people's attitudes.

"Women endorse sexist beliefs, at least in part, because they do not attend to subtle, aggregate forms of sexism in their personal lives," wrote authors Julia C. Becker and Janet K. Swim. "Many men not only lack attention to such incidents but also are less likely to perceive sexist incidents as being discriminatory and potentially harmful for women."

Radio station's niche is its "voice from nowhere"

The language of the Native American Blackfoot tribe has made a small radio station in Montana a regional force.

In the Blackfeet language, the station is Ksistsikam ayikinaan. That translates to "voice from nowhere," but you can call it Thunder Radio.

At 30-watts, the community radio station doesn't reach too far beyond Browning, but its impact is growing.

"What I've heard is, it's our own," station manager Lona Burns said. "The Blackfeet people have our own accent so I guess they enjoy that it sounds like them."

The DJs are preachers, teachers, students and others but have one important thing in common.

"Every single one has a positive outlook on life," Burns said. "Their programs transform into positive energy for the listeners."